Van Rootselaar is suspected of killing eight people and injuring 27 others at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School on 12 February, in one of the deadliest attacks in Canada’s recent history. Authorities reported that Van Rootselaar later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The suspect’s mother and step-brother were among the victims.
According to OpenAI, the account was identified in June 2025 through its abuse and enforcement detection systems, which aim to flag accounts used to further violent activity.
The company said the account was banned for violations, but it did not notify authorities at the time because the usage did not meet the threshold for a credible or imminent plan to cause serious physical harm.
A spokesperson for OpenAI said: “In June 2025, we proactively identified an account associated with this individual via our abuse detection and enforcement efforts, which include automated tools and human investigations to identify misuses of our models in furtherance of violent activities.”
The Wall Street Journal reported that about a dozen OpenAI staffers debated whether to alert law enforcement after identifying potentially violent use of the tool, but company leaders ultimately decided against it.
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Following the attack, OpenAI said it “proactively” contacted Canadian authorities with information on the suspect.
OpenAI stressed that its policy is to alert authorities only in cases of imminent risk, noting that overly broad reporting could inadvertently cause harm.
The company said it trains ChatGPT to discourage real-world harm and to refuse assistance for illegal activities, and that it is reviewing the case to improve its referral criteria.
The motive for the attack remains unclear. Police have said the suspect, born biologically male, identified as a woman.
The tragedy has left the Tumbler Ridge community in mourning, with eight dead and dozens more injured in the shooting.